1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearer cleaning apparatus for wipingly cleaning outer peripheries of bearers of a printing machine, and more particularly to a bearer cleaning apparatus for wipingly cleaning bearers"" peripheral surfaces by utilizing a cleaning solution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bearer cleaning apparatuses for wipingly cleaning bearers"" peripheral surfaces of printing machines are known, such as from: JP-Y2-3-24358 (24358/1991); and a paragraph of xe2x80x9cBEARER WIPE OIL CUPSxe2x80x9d in a right column on page 6-5 and xe2x80x9cFIG. 6-2 Bearer Wiper Assemblyxe2x80x9d of the same column on the same page of xe2x80x9cGOSS Colorliner PRINTING UNITS WITH DIGITAL INJECTOR INKING SYSTEM AND LIMITED OPERATING CONTROLS Operation Manual 415-OMxe2x80x9d.
The bearer cleaning apparatus shown in JP-Y2-3-24358 includes an elastic arm mounted on a frame, and this arm has a tip end attached with a felting-material cleaning member (wiper) via cylindrical holding member (wiper holder) formed with a lubricant hole. Further, one end of the cleaning member in this bearer cleaning apparatus is protruded from the holding member and contacted with a bearer""s peripheral surface of a printing cylinder by virtue of the elastic force of the arm. The bearer cleaning apparatus having such a constitution is intended to be supplied with a cleaning solution (lubricant) through the lubricant hole as required to thereby immerse the cleaning member in the cleaning solution, so as to wipingly clean the bearer""s peripheral surface while supplying the cleaning solution to the bearer""s peripheral surface through the cleaning member. The printing cylinder may be shifted by 1 to 10 millimeters, for printing preparation such as mounting of a press plate. The bearer cleaning apparatus is provided with a compression spring between: the other end of the cleaning member housed within the holding member; and the inner wall of the holding member; in which the compression spring exhibits a reactive force weaker than the elastic force of the arm thereby allowing the cleaning member to follow the bearer""s peripheral surface which shifts together with the printing cylinder.
Further, the bearer cleaning apparatus shown in the xe2x80x9cOperation Manual 415-OMxe2x80x9d of the xe2x80x9cGOSS Colorlinerxe2x80x9d is constituted to be mounted on a finger guard provided at a nip point to be defined by a plate cylinder and a blanket cylinder. The bearer cleaning apparatus is further provided with: a cleaning member (wiper) having one end contacted with a bearer""s peripheral surface; and an oil cup adjacent to the other end of the cleaning member. The bearer cleaning apparatus is constituted such that the cleaning member is supplied with a cleaning solution (lubricant) from the oil cup to thereby wipingly clean the bearer""s peripheral surface while supplying the cleaning solution to the bearer""s peripheral surface through the cleaning member.
Meanwhile, each one of the above-mentioned known bearer cleaning apparatuses is individually provided with means for supplying the cleaning solution to the associated cleaning member. This obliges an operator to go up to the position of each cleaning apparatus so as to replenish each cleaning member or each oil cup with the cleaning solution, when the cleaning member requires the cleaning solution. This results in an extremely inefficient cleaning operation, and obliges the operator to conduct an extremely troublesome, much burdened and complicated operation. Particularly, in such a web press constituted of a plurality of longitudinally or vertically overlapped printing parts and capable of conducting multi color printing and which web press is recently practiced such as in newspaper printing, the respective printing parts are not placed in the same floor so that the operator is obliged to go up and down among different floors in case of replenishing each cleaning member or each oil cup with a cleaning solution. This results in a further increased physical burden of such a cleaning operator.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bearer cleaning apparatus for wipingly cleaning bearers"" peripheral surfaces by utilizing a cleaning solution, for enabling to replenish a plurality of cleaning members with the cleaning solution from a single location in an extremely simple manner upon replenishing the cleaning members with the cleaning solution, thereby achieving an improved working efficiency and excluding a burden of an operator, to thereby release the operator from troublesome and complicated operations.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bearer cleaning apparatus provided correspondingly to bearers provided at both ends, respectively, of a printing cylinder of a printing machine, the apparatus comprising: a plurality sets of cleaning means supported in a manner capable of contacting with bearers"" peripheral surfaces, respectively; and cleaning solution supplying means for supplying a cleaning solution to cleaning members of the plurality sets of cleaning means. The cleaning solution supplying means comprises: a supply source part of the cleaning solution; a supply branching part of the cleaning solution; and supplying conduits leading from the supply source part via the supply branching part up to the plurality sets of cleaning means, respectively.
According to this constitution, upon replenishing cleaning members of the plurality sets of cleaning means of the cleaning apparatus with the cleaning solution, those sets of cleaning means having the cleaning members to be replenished, respectively, are fed with the cleaning solution from the cleaning solution supply source part communicated with the plurality sets of cleaning means through supplying conduits via supply branching part. The cleaning solution as fed out reaches the supply branching part through the supply pipe, and fed out from the supply branching part in a manner branched into the supplying conduits branched to feeding destinations, respectively, to thereby reach the plurality of cleaning members to be replenished.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention to further comprise: a supplying pump as the supply source part, the supplying pump being provided with a cleaning solution reservoir; wherein the supply branching part comprises a distributing valve, and wherein the supplying conduits are constituted of: a main pipe leading from the supplying pump to the distributing valve; and branch pipes extending from the distributing valve in the downstream directions, respectively.
According to this constitution, the cleaning solution reserved in the cleaning solution reservoir is forcibly fed out by the pump, and the cleaning solution fed out by the pump reaches the distributing valve and is branched by the distributing valve to a plurality of outlets of the distributing valve such that substantially equal amounts of the cleaning solution are discharged from the outlets, respectively, in a manner that the cleaning solution is simultaneously replenished to those cleaning members of the plurality sets of cleaning means to be replenished via supplying conduits coupled to the outlets, respectively.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that at least the downstream-most portions of the branch pipes are capable of flexibly bending.
According to this constitution, the branch pipe never obstructs a displaced movement of the cleaning means, such as when a printing cylinder is slightly and displacedly moved for printing preparation so that the cleaning means corresponding to the printing cylinder is correspondingly required to be slightly displaced.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the distributing valve is of a plunger-pump type constituted such that each plunger is moved to thereby discharge, from the associated one of outlets, such an amount of cleaning solution corresponding to the moved stroke of the plunger.
This constitution causes each outlet to permanently discharge a constant amount of cleaning solution.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the distributing valve is incorporated therein with three cylinder portions each incorporated therein with a plunger, and two of the three sets of plungers and cylinder portions include the same shape plungers each having stepped portions at two locations, and the remaining one of the three sets includes a plunger having stepped portions at three locations.
This constitution causes the cylinders and plungers to mutually cooperate and causes each outlet to permanently discharge a constant amount of cleaning solution.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that each of the plurality sets of cleaning means is provided with a cleaning member constituted to be stably urged against a bearer to be wipedly cleaned, by force applying means.
This enables bearer cleaning without nonuniformity, since the cleaning means is stably urged against the bearer to be cleaned, by the force applying means.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the cleaning means is mounted on a mounting seat disposed above a supporting member via angle bracket of the force applying means.
The force applying means is mounted to the mounting seat via angle bracket, thereby enabling permanently stabilized bearer cleaning.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the angle bracket has an L-shape arranged to include a long edge having a downwardly directed tip end and a short edge projected oppositely to the supporting member, and the angle bracket is mounted to both of the supporting member and the mounting seat.
The angle bracket has the L-shape for achieving a sufficient rigidity, thereby enabling permanently stabilized bearer cleaning.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the short edge of the angle bracket is formed with a pair of holes penetrating through the short edge parallelly to the long edge at positions slightly separated from the long edge, and these holes are inserted with a pair of shafts of the force applying means.
The pair of shafts of the force applying means are inserted through the holes provided at that short edge side of the angle bracket which has a higher rigidity, thereby enabling stabilized bearer cleaning.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that the pair of shafts have upper ends mutually coupled by a plate so that the pair of shafts are disposed to smoothly move when the pair of parallel shafts are upwardly and downwardly operated, and the shafts have lower ends fixed with an L-shaped block by means of setscrews.
The pair of parallel shafts smoothly move when the pair of parallel shafts are upwardly and downwardly operated, thereby enabling permanently stabilized bearer cleaning.
Preferably, it is desirable for the bearer cleaning apparatus of the present invention that, between the lower surface of the short edge of the angle bracket and the upper surface of the short edge of the L-shaped block, the pair of shafts of the force applying means are fitted with compression springs thereon, respectively, of urging means for urging the cleaning member onto the outer periphery of the plate cylinder bearer PB.
The force for urging the cleaning member onto the plate cylinder bearer is stabilized by the compression springs of the urging means, so that the film thickness of the cleaning solution on the bearer""s peripheral surface is kept substantially constant. Additionally, the compression springs are capable of automatically putting out the cleaning member toward the plate cylinder bearer PB, such as by an amount of wear of the tip end of the cleaning member comprising a felting-material having a suitable thickness, when the tip end has been worn.